Learning Mercy
by Eiovida
Summary: (New summary) Audrey survived the crash that should have killed her. Now she must make a whole new life for herself while discovering what this post-apocalyptic world has in store for her.
1. The Crash

**Learning Mercy**

**Chapter 1 ─ The Crash**

(Disclaimer: I do not own Legion. I am making no profit from this. All charters belong to their respectful owners.)

* * *

"Get off of her!" Audrey cried, circling her arms up around the brute's neck and squeezing as hard as she could ─ he merely grunted, tightened his hold on Jeep's neck, and continued reaching for the baby shielded in Charlie's arms.

Tires squealed, Charlie sobbed hysterically, and Jeep struggled to remove the hand crushing his windpipe while holding his foot to the gas.

Audrey knew that they were done for if something didn't happen soon ─ the human race included - she just didn't understand what Jeep was...

Then it clicked, and Audrey realized that Jeep planned to hit the brakes to eject the brute from the car, but was hesitating... because of her.

Both terrified at the revelation and sure of her sudden resolve, Audrey made a decision. "Jeep! Do it!" Audrey shouted at him, trying to hide the waver in her voice, "Do it!"

Then the brakes slammed, and there was a brief instant where Audrey felt weightless, before intense gravity took hold and she hurled through the windshield on the back of the angel.

Time seemed to slow in Audrey's mind in that brief instant, and she felt fear mingle with grim satisfaction as the angel and her slipped further and further away from the vehicle.

But fear won out in the end, and Audrey squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to think of a time when things were simple: when none of this mattered.

Their bodies were mere inches from impact with the pavement when the angel suddenly twisted around and grabbed her, pulling her hard against his cold metal breastplate and tucking his wings around them in a sort of cage. They hit the ground with a jarring impact and Audrey shrieked, but he held her firmly in place.

They rolled ─ once, twice, more; faster and faster until Audrey couldn't tell which way was up anymore.

Gradually the spinning began to slow, the impacts becoming fewer and further between, and Audrey felt the grip on her loosen slightly; frightened, her arms shot around his waist to secure herself against him. She felt his muscles become lax and the feathered cage around them go limp.

Then the first real impact hit, and Audrey's right arm became pinned between the angel and the pavement before it bent with a sickening _crack─ _her body stiffened and she barely had enough time to cry out before the second impact hit, and the angel slammed into her, knocking her head back against the pavement with the brunt of his weight.

Darkness blanketed her vision as Audrey lost consciousness.

* * *

Two limp bodies hit the pavement twice more before disentangling and rolling to a stop a few feet from each other.

Neither so much as twitched as the silence of the desert night set in around them.

* * *

Down the road and past a steep incline, Charlie carefully removed herself and her baby from the overturned police cruiser before checking him over for wounds ─ he was shaken up and whimpering, but otherwise unharmed, and she sighed a breath of relief before bringing him up to cradle under her chin.

Charlie thought back to Audrey's flight through the windshield with growing pity.

Poor girl, there wasn't a chance in hell that she could've survived being thrown out a windshield at that speed. Charlie closed her eyes and moved her palm to rest possessively over the back of the baby's head.

She'd grown attached to the young girl over the past few hellish days and felt saddened by her death, but if it weren't for Audrey's sacrifice they would all be dead, and for that she was grateful.

Charlie opened her eyes and carefully set her whimpering bundle down next to her before crawling back into the overturned car to rouse Jeep.

* * *

It was nearing sunrise when Gabriel opened his eyes to stare at the stirring clouds above him. He lay motionless for a moment, before remembering his mission and slowly pushing himself up to stand.

He spotted his dagger a few paces away and walked to it before picking it up and slipping it back into the sheath strapped to his calf.

He had to find the baby. His father would be disappointed if him if he couldn't carry out in killing a simple infant. After all, he had laid waste to countless enemies at his father's command, and had always done so with an unwavering intensity that had sometimes even frightened his brothers ─ Michael in particular.

Gabriel flinched and turned his eyes downward. Michael ─ his dear brother, his companion, his friend; he was dead now, having been killed off by none other than Gabriel himself.

But no, Gabriel reminded himself, Michael had known the consequences of his actions long before his decision to defy their father. He had chosen his own death. Besides, Gabriel had rather it be his hand that killed his brother rather than it be any other.

And there would have been another if Gabriel had refused. And yet knowing this didn't make the crushing weight on his heart lessen.

Gabriel closed his eyes and buried the feelings ─ they could be sorted out later; he must finish out his father's will and kill the child at any cost.

There was no other option. There never had been.

Gabriel unfurled his dark wings, readying himself to take flight, but paused when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look over his shoulder.

Not far from where he had woken was a girl.

Gabriel stood in stunned silence for a moment before he remembered: during the crash, just before the impact, he had felt something from the mind of the girl ─ flashes from her memory; of an innocent child laughing with her mother, of her father tickling her. He had felt the warmth of the memory ─ of how desperately she longed for it. It had spurred something inside him, and before he had the time to consider his actions, he had her in his arms, shielding her from becoming a wet smear on the pavement.

Gabriel stared at her for another few seconds before turning back toward his destination.

He had done it on nothing more than a whim ─ but this is where his mercy ended, and what happened to her now was up to the girl to decide.

Unfurling his dark wings once more, he took to the sky with a single powerful thrust.

He didn't look back.


	2. Lost and Found

**Learning Mercy**

**Chapter 2 ─ Lost and Found**

* * *

This post-apocalyptic world wasn't all that much different than the regular one, Audrey reflected as she stared at the cloudless afternoon sky above her. Although, her opinion might be considered a bit prejudice ─ seeing as how she currently judged the world from her back in the middle of a deserted highway.

Audrey groaned and pushed herself up to sit. Several spots on her body hurt: some stung and throbbed while others were simply sore, but her right arm ached more fiercely than all of the others combined.

Audrey hissed when she attempted to lift ther fractured arm, but swiftly pulled it up to cradle against her ribs before choking out a sob. Oh god it hurt! Even the slightest movement sent stabbing pains shooting up and down her arm.

The crash suddenly flashed through her mind. The angel ─ why did he save her? Not even a minute before he'd been trying to kill her off. Hell, he'd even hit her hard enough to knock her unconscious; she could still feel her head throbbing ─ although she wasn't entirely sure if it was from that or smacking her head on the pavement. Then he'd tried to grab the baby and...

Shit! The baby, Charlie, Jeep! Where were they? Where was the car?

Audrey turned, spotting wisps of smoke rising from the dip a ways down the road. Oh god. Were they dead?

Audrey held her arm still, and shifted until her legs were positioned under her before pushing and wobbling up to a stand. She felt dizzy, but ignored it in favor of slowly jogging her way down the road to the top of the slope.

It wasn't hard to spot the overturned police cruiser, and Audrey's heart plummeted before she caught sight of Charlie's side of the car. The door was open.

Was it possible? Audrey squinted hard and leaned over to get a better view ─ there wasn't anyone in the car ─ not from what she could see anyway. She released a shaky breath before straightening.

She still wasn't sure if they were alive or not, but felt relieved knowing that they hadn't died in that wreck. Not after all they'd been through.

But now what? They were gone, and Audrey was alone. She hated being alone.

Audrey licked her chapped lips before looking around her; there were miles of hot asphalt which stretched both ways beyond her vision ─ not something that appealed to Audrey. Beyond the slope where the car rested in shambles, lay acres upon acres of dried up grass, and beyond that, mountains ─ again, not something she found herself excited about. Then there was the opposite side of the road, which had a short stretch of grass before turning into an inclining hill.

Well, at least the latter didn't promise miles of walking in the dead heat of the desert. Besides, if it turned out that the hill was a mistake, it wouldn't take long to choose a new route. Audrey nodded to herself.

But before she could head out she had to do something about the heat, which was becoming unbearable in the scuffed and filthy jacket.

Audrey grimaced as she carefully moved her broken arm to hang at her side before she began wriggling out of the jacket. It hurt when she had to draw it over her right arm, but she clenched her teeth and got it over with quickly as to not prolong the pain.

After it was removed, she debated on whether or not to leave the coat behind, but decided against it. She never knew when she might need it, besides, she had some things in the inner zipped pockets: a nail file, a pen, some paper, a lighter, some pills, and a few other little things that she'd brought with her into the diner.

Then Audrey had an idea: maybe she could use it as a sling. She studied the jacket, trying to figure out the best way she could position it to work, and after a few seconds she decided on it.

Audrey dropped the jacket face up on the concrete, and sat down ─ with a wince ─ next to it in the middle of the road. She positioned her arm to rest limply across her crossed legs and leaned over to get to work.

First, she opened the jacket before swiftly lifting her broken arm ─ which protested the movement with sharp pains ─ and pulled the jacket into her lap to lay open across her right thigh. She then laid her arm in the center of the jacket ─ with her elbow at the bottom and her wrist near the fur at the top of the jacket. Next, she took the right arm of the sleeve and tossed it over her left shoulder and held it there with her chin. Then she grabbed the left sleeve and awkwardly wrapped it around to the other side of her shoulder where the two sides of the sleeves met. Using her left hand and her teeth, she adjusted the jacket until it supported her arm, and tied a tight double knot.

Finished, Audrey pushed herself to stand an tested the sling by pulling on the sleeves and gently swaying her arm back and fourth. It was far from perfect, and her arm still hurt when jostled, but it was supportive and much better than using her good arm to hold the broken one in place.

Audrey gave herself a mental pat on the back before turning around and making her way over to the base of the rocky hill. She didn't hesitate to begin the climb.

It was unpleasant, and it didn't help that the gashes and bruises lining her body ached with every successive step forward, but she knew that sitting down and waiting for help wasn't going to get her anywhere, so she ignored the pain and continued up the hill - all the while being careful of loose dirt and rocks.

As she reached the crowning of the hill, she awkwardly pushed herself up to meet the view.

Beyond the ridge she stood on was a small town. It sat nestled in the valley, smoke rising out of a few of the house's chimneys, and it looked quite inviting to someone who thought she might be stranded in the middle of the desert.

Audrey smiled and felt relief settle in her stomach, but the smile dropped from her face faster than she would drop a ball of razors when she spotted the way down.

No, it wasn't impossible, but the rough path was steep in places, with few foot holes, and ledges that didn't allow for much movement.

Audrey had never had a big thing against heights, but the twisting path that snaked its way down and around the cliff-side put her on edge.

Perhaps there was another way? Audrey looked to the small town and followed the dirt road leading from it with her eyes. It curved from the town and went parallel with the cliff-side for a ways, until she lost sight of it as it curved beyond another mountain some ways off. She knew that the dusty little road had to connect to the main road somewhere beyond her vision, but it was hard to determine how far that was.

So there were her options: safe and time-consuming, or a risky shortcut.

She could take the long and easy way by walking along the main road (that she had just woken up on not too long ago) until it connected with the dusty one leading to the town, but that would mean spending countless more hours walking through the hot desert. Or she could take the shortcut. Audrey looked back down the cliff-side. The route was manageable, and she guessed that she would shave quite a few hours off of her arrival time if she went that way. She'd just have to be careful.

Besides, there was a river that ran just at the bottom of the cliff and it looked just as inviting to her as the town.

Decision made, Audrey shifted herself to sit on the rock she stood on, and gently slid down a few inches to the footpath. She hesitated only a second before she began walking.

After a few minutes, Audrey realized that it really wasn't all that bad; she guessed that hikers or locals had used this trail a few times before, judging by the occasional scuff-mark or boot-print in the dirt, and knowing that made her feel better. Then there were some spots that looked ready to give way, or, they did in her mind at least; she did a good job of avoiding these areas by pressing herself flat against the wall and scooting past, then ─ once she decided that it was safe again ─ would continue on normally.

A few minutes turned into twenty, and Audrey was feeling the heat. She used the back of her hand to wipe at the sweat gathering on her forehead, and felt other sweat trickling in decidedly uncomfortable areas. She tried not to think of much along her trek, but allowed herself to worry about Charlie, Jeep, and the baby every so often. She also tried to make sense of the angel's actions, but gave up after a short time and focused on the task at hand. She felt too drained ─ body and mind ─ to really try to sort anything out at the moment. All she wanted to think about was her left foot proceeding the right and then vice versa.

More time passed, and Audrey turned around a somewhat steep corner before sighing in relief. Not far ahead was a space that was wide enough to sit ─ hell, do a cartwheel or two if she wanted ─ or could, she reminded herself with a glance to her arm. There was even a bit of shade from a rock that slightly protruded from the cliff-side. She focused on the spot of shade as she made her way down the rest of the slope.

Audrey dropped down in an exhausted heap as she reached the shade - it cloaked her body in delicious reprieve from the overbearing heat of the Mojave sun.

She closed her eyes, stretched her legs out in front of her, and leaned her head back against the cool rocks with a sigh of pleasure.

She rested there for a while, five minutes, ten, twenty? Audrey didn't know, nor did she care: this was bliss. The only thing that could make this better is if she opened her eyes and found herself in the town with a jug of ice-water in hand. Audrey snorted at herself before opening her eyes and examining her surroundings.

It was a large area, mostly flat, with a few dried up bushes and medium-sized rocks scattered here and there. It was a nice change from the thin ledges that led to this spot.

As she scanned the ground, a glimmer caught her eye.

_What is that?_ Audrey thought with a frown, and she pushed herself up to stand before approaching the object.

It was covered in dirt, but there was no mistaking what it was: a rather wicked-looking dagger. Not far from it was a dusty and congealed splattering of blood... but none on the blade.

Audrey reached down and grabbed the strange looking knife before standing.

She gave it a once over before shrugging and sticking it through a loop on the side of her dirt-covered black skirt. Not as good as a gun, but she felt safer knowing she had something to defend herself with.

Although she was still tired, Audrey decided that it was time to continue on; she didn't want to go out any later and be trapped on a ledge in the dark. She looked at the sun's position in the sky and figured that if she left now that she might make it down before sunset.

Audrey took one last longing glance at the shade before moving on.


	3. Memories

**Learning Mercy**

**Chapter 3 ─ Memories**

* * *

The sun hung low in the sky, silhouetting the dark angel's figure as he landed atop the smoldering pile of rubble.

Gabriel rolled a shoulder before getting to work with rummaging through what was left of the human diner: he cleared away a few clumps of bricks, tossed aside a long sheet of burnt tin roofing, and lifted up a charred wooden beam before heaving it out of the way.

It wasn't long before he came upon his prize, and he leaned over to pull the still-warm hunk of metal out from under a pile of soot-blackened debris.

Gabriel straightened and placed the head of his mace in his hands, turning it over as he inspected it.

It had gone through some changes over the past few centuries, but it was still the same used and re-used material he'd wielded over the ages. He twisted part of the handle, and the spikes retracted with a couple of ringing clanks. Satisfied, he slung it handle-first through a strap on his hip. The mace's weight felt familiar against his side; one of the remaining constants in his life.

And how few constants remained now.

Gabriel rested his hand over the dressed and healing wound across his stomach ─ having earlier sought out medical supplies and found them in an abandoned shack some miles off. The wound itself had stopped aching as fiercely since this morning, but Gabriel now felt pain beyond just the wounds of his flesh.

Michael had confronted him; restored anew and descending from the heavens like the holy general he was. Gabriel had felt both shocked and relieved at the revelation ─ which, at Michael's scolding remarks, had both given way to anger.

Who was Michael to tell him of failure? Michael, whom had gone against the very command of God by siding with the very one he was ordered to destroy. Michael knew nothing of true obedience, and yet he had been _rewarded_ for his actions.

A muscle in Gabriel's jaw clenched.

Hadn't _he _himself been loyal? Respectful? Obedient? Gabriel had even gone as far as to kill his own brother, and yet that had not been enough to win over their father's appreciation.

He had failed, and it hurt his pride more than he liked to admit.

Gabriel turned pained eyes toward the setting sun and unfurled his wings before taking to the sky once more.

He wouldn't be returning home for a while yet, not until he sorted himself out.

* * *

The desert sun hung low in the sky, dipping slowly toward the horizon and lighting up the area in a brilliant red-orange glow.

Audrey dropped to her knees on the riverbank and cupped her free hand under the rush of cool water - ignoring the little voice in the back of her mind that spoke of germs - before bringing the water up to her lips and swallowing it down eagerly. She repeated the process several more times until she felt full-to-bursting. She then proceeded to splash handfuls of water over the feverish skin of her face, neck, chest, and legs.

Skin moistened and cooling, Audrey rested there for a moment, staring out at the sunset and listening to the water rush past her down the riverbank.

It'd taken her a while to make it the rest of the way down the path, and she'd found herself doubting her decision making skills many times along the way. But now that she was cooling down and had some water in her, Audrey couldn't help but feel grateful that she'd chosen the shortcut.

Audrey sighed and brought her hand up to adjust the sleeves of her makeshift sling. She'd been so focused on making it down the path before nightfall that she hadn't noticed how tired she really was; but she now felt the heaviness of her limbs and the way her eyelids sagged downwards more keenly than she had before.

Audrey looked up to where she knew the town was settled. It wasn't that far off, but she didn't want to move another few feet let alone stumble through the darkness and into a group of possibly inhospitable strangers.

Audrey hadn't been out of the city all too often in the past, but she knew that there were towns and groups of people that were less welcoming to strangers than others; just as there were areas of the city that people just didn't visit after certain hours of the night ─ unless you fancied a new set of breathing holes.

Audrey also figured that the townspeople wouldn't be especially friendly if they'd seen any of what had been going on over the past few days ─ she wouldn't blame them if that were the case.

No, it'd be better to approach them in the daylight when she at least had a chance to see them and gauge how welcoming they looked. She didn't know what she'd do if they didn't welcome her, or if they shot at her, but what other choice did she have? She'd just have to wait until morning and see what came with it.

For now, all she needed to worry about was finding a good spot and building a fire.

Audrey looked around the flat expanse around her before spotting a decent sized rock not too far from the riverside; it was large enough for her to lean against as she slept, and she decided that it was as good of a spot as any.

So the next step was to build a fire. Audrey grudgingly pushed herself up from her resting spot to make her way over to a dried-up bush. She squatted in front of it, and attempted to use her good hand to snap it off at the stem, but it was too thick - probably about as round as an empty paper-towel role - and wouldn't give sway no matter how hard she twisted or pulled at it.

Audrey frowned at the bush before pulling the dagger out from the loop on her skirt. She aimed the blade at the base of the plant before bringing her arm back and _chopping_. It fell on the first swing ─ like cutting through chilled butter.

Audrey paused, holding the blade out in front of her and eyeing it warily. That was _too_ easy.

For a second she felt tempted to discard the cutting-tool before thinking better of it. It was dangerous: all the better for defending herself.

But she now handled it much more gingerly as she slipped it back into the loop of her skirt.

Audrey stood and dragged the plant back over to her area before dropping it. She then made her way over to another plant and repeated the process.

She gathered up a few more bushes before feeling satisfied with the size of the pile. She then sat down next to the bundle before getting to work with bending, snapping, and peeling the spindly branches from the first bush and creating a pile of smaller twigs near her outstretched legs.

Audrey felt her mind drifting as she did her work, and she wondered idly how different the new world would be, if it was really different at all. Would they still have electricity? Would money matter anymore? How many people had died during the 'extermination'? Perhaps people in other towns and cities weren't even affected by the other-worldly occurrences that she and the others had the ill-fortune to witness.

But Audrey stopped her herself before she got her hopes up. It was another thing she had to be patient about.

Finished stripping the twigs from the first bush, Audrey shifted to sit on her knees, and set one knee against the lower half of the stick while grasping the other half before pulling up ─ the branch cracked and splintered before it gave way with a thick _snap_.

Audrey removed her leg and piled both of the pieces to make an x-shape before stuffing and sprinkling a few twigs and nearby debris on and between the x.

Satisfied with her work, Audrey reached into her makeshift-sling and unzipped the inside pocket before drawing out the paper and her lighter.

The lighter had simply been used to heat up her stick of eyeliner - she'd tried smoking once or twice, it turned out that it just wasn't her thing. The paper on the other hand, had been the beginnings of a letter to her friend, Lacey ─ which Audrey really had no intention of sending ─ but writing a letter had worked well to pass the time, so Audrey had busied herself with it before things had first gone wrong in the diner. Before that possessed granny ─ Gladys, her mind supplied ─ had strolled in and turned her world upside down.

Audrey suddenly remembered the way Gladys' body contorted as she scuttled across the ceiling, the predatory gaze as she... no, _**it**_, caught sight of her father...

Audrey released a shaky breath before pushing the memory back down.

Audrey crumpled up one of the papers and stuffed it under the center of the wooden x before lighting it. The twigs took easily enough, and soon the thicker branches caught fire too and Audrey had a healthy little fire going. She then got back to work with stripping the bushes and adding the pieces into two separate piles.

She'd rather just be proactive about this and get it over with rather than having to do it in the dark.

A few minutes passed as she worked, and Audrey found herself remembering that she had once been a proactive type of person, up until about five years ago; when things had changed within her family.

Audrey paused when the images of her parents' deaths flashed across her mind: of her father strapped upside down with boils lining his body, and of her mother's head whipping back as a bullet entered her skull.

Audrey's mouth suddenly became dry and she swallowed thickly before closing her eyes, willing the disturbing images away. When she reopened them, she felt nothing more than a numb state of acceptance.

Was that all she should feel? Didn't normal people cry when this sort of thing happened? What was wrong with her?

Audrey looked up to the sun, which was now almost completely hidden behind the horizon.

It wasn't that she didn't love her parents. She'd loved them as much as one could love a dysfunctional set like them.

Besides, they hadn't always been that way; they had once been all Audrey could have wanted and more.

Her father, Howard, had been a hard-working man. He was caring, attentive, harsh when he needed to be, and playful otherwise. He had a great sense of humor too, and Audrey had loved his jokes; even if some were a bit cringe-worthy at times. When Audrey was younger, her father would often play pretend with her, help her with her homework, tell her about the rights and wrongs in the world, and would comfort her if someone had been picking on her at school. She'd always felt safe around him, and never doubted that she could look to him for protection from anything.

Then there was her mother, Sandra, who had always been a privileged woman, and was deemed a perfectionist by age seven. Audrey remembered that her mother enjoyed humming to herself while doing chores around the house ─ it could normally be heard echoing faintly around the house on quiet days, and it was a sound that Audrey had found comfort in. When Audrey was younger, her mother would tell funny stories from when she herself had been Audrey's age, she would rent movies for them to watch together (particularly ones from the 40s and 50s), and had fixed Audrey's hair for her each day before school. Her mother had also tried, on more than one occasion, to teach Audrey how to cook; Audrey had never gotten the hang of cooking, but had enjoyed watching her mother go through the motions nonetheless. Her mother always had good advice when it came to friends and crushes, and she was a good shoulder to cry on if Audrey found herself upset and in need of company.

Those were the days that Audrey felt loved, wanted, happy.

But things in life have the tenancy to change ─ and they did so one day, when Audrey was twelve years old.

It was summertime, and Audrey was playing over at the neighbor's house when her mother had decided to drop by her father's work to surprise him with lunch. She'd found him missing from the office, and, upon further inspection, caught him in the back of his car with a woman from his office.

He made no excuses for his actions, but insisted that the younger woman meant nothing to him. Audrey had later found out ─ while overhearing a conversation her mother was having on the phone ─ that the affair had been going on for a total of six months, and that her father had admitted that he'd done it because something had felt unfulfilled in his life.

But he'd looked for change in all of the wrong places, and Audrey remember her parent's fighting for hours that first night: screaming, crying, and smashing things in their anger and frustration.

But, her mother ─ who was still in love with her father and the life they'd built together ─ didn't leave; and her father ─ who insisted that he still loved her mother and felt guilty for his betrayal ─ didn't make her go.

So her parents managed to keep the relationship afloat from that day forward. But just barely.

And nothing had ever been the same since.

Her mother threw herself into building up the illusion of the perfect life. She would clean in a whirlwind for hours upon hours ─ scrubbing away the dirt and dust that she felt represented imperfections in her life. She would plan elegant dinner parties and invite sophisticated men and women over so she could play hostess. She also began snapping and losing her temper over the smallest things. Her mother never hummed to herself after that, not even when she thought she was alone.

Her father, on the other hand, put everything he had into his work. He lost most of his humor, and most jokes he made became poor in taste and weren't humorous in the least. He became almost painfully punctual, and took up drinking as a hobby to fill the void he often felt. He felt distant compared to what Audrey was used to; a pale comparison of what he used to be.

As for Audrey, most of the time outside of school was spent alone in her room; playing with the toys and trinkets her parents gave her in place of the attention she so desperately craved.

Time passed - years - and Audrey found herself become more and more bitter with each successive trinket.

Then, when she was almost fifteen, Audrey remembered when things changed again.

Audrey had stood up from the chair in her bedroom, walked down the staircase, went straight into the immaculate sitting room, and paused in front of the shelf above the fireplace.

Audrey's face was blank as she lifted her hand and caressed her mother's french vase with the tips of her fingers. It was so beautiful, with all of its intricate details and the way the light played against its curved handles. Audrey had always admired it when she was little, and remembered her mother telling her of how much she loved it too. A wedding present, if Audrey recalled correctly.

Then Audrey extended her fingertip and used it to gently tip the vase from the shelf.

The resulting shatter had both of her parents red-faced and panting when they entered the room seconds later, and Audrey had greeted them with a wicked little half-smile, before turning her attention back to the shelf. The crystal bowl followed the vase.

They rewarded her with a round of yelling and a hefty grounding, and Audrey had felt more alive in that moment than she had in almost three years.

Like Kyle had said on the rooftop of the diner: bad attention was better than none at all. And perhaps that's why Audrey had felt a connection with Kyle before he died. He understood what it was like to feel alone.

Over time, Audrey thought of new ways to upset her parents: shoplifting, popping pills, running away, skipping school, dressing like she worked at a strip club ─ all of these methods and more fell prey to Audrey, and they gained her the attention she craved.

But she felt ashamed of herself now. It was amazing how someone's ways of thinking could be altered after being trapped in a diner for three days and experiencing horrors that most people hadn't even dreamed of.

Audrey decided that it was a shame that her parents were dead. If they were still here, she would hug them, apologize to them, tell them that she would never do anything hurtful to them again ─ regardless of how they hurt her.

But the reality was that she would never see them again, would never be able to make up for her mistakes and to make them proud of her.

Then it clicked, as if all of the events of the past few days suddenly became real to her.

Audrey swallowed thickly and her eyes swelled with tears. She suddenly didn't care if the fire were to go out or not, and threw aside the half-peeled branch in her lap.

What did it matter? What did any of it matter? They were gone ─ and it was her fault that they were dead.

Tears overflowed from her eyes, making trails through the light layer of dust covering her cheeks. Then Audrey choked out a sob, lowering her head and bringing her good hand up to cover her eyes in shame.

Her mother had been right. She had been a selfish, horrid little brat and had acted out simply because she was angry that they didn't pay enough attention to her. That's why they'd ended up moving... why they ended up dead.

And now she was alone, and Audrey had no one to blame but herself.

More tears streamed down her face, and she now cried out in deep, gasping sobs that shook her lithe frame.

* * *

It wasn't where he'd dropped it.

Gabriel scanned the area once more before frowning. He knew he'd dropped his dagger here; the evidence of his own blood was still splattered across the ground at his feet. Was it possible that Michael or the boy had taken it?

No, not Michael. Gabriel knew him better than that. He would have left it there for Gabriel to retrieve for himself.

So that left the boy. Gabriel turned and looked down to the human dwelling below: there was no light coming from the town, but the red glow of a fire alongside the river caught his attention.

Ah, so that's where they were.

Gabriel spread his wings and dived down the cliff-side, catching a gust of wind and gliding against the gentle current.

He wouldn't harm them ─ out of respect for his father ─ but he would reclaim what was his.

But as Gabriel neared the tiny camp, he noticed that there was only one figure below, and heard crying that was too different in pitch to be from a babe.

Landing silently just outside of the firelight, Gabriel realized that it wasn't the mother of the child as he had expected, but the girl he'd saved during the crash.

She sat in front of a small fire, head bent into her hand and sobbing out her sorrows with an almost mindless passion. He also noticed that she wore a poorly-constructed sling, and had numerous scrapes, cuts, and purplish bruises spotting her exposed flesh ─ which was also covered in dirt and her own dried blood.

Overall, she was a mess, and Gabriel wasn't sure of what he should do with himself, but he figured it best if he just left.

A coyote yelped in the distance, pulling him from his thoughts and making the girl's head snap up. He watched curiously as she began to fumble with something at her side, still sniffling, as she attempted to wipe the tears off on her bare shoulder.

But then she froze suddenly, and her head whipped over to where he stood.

Her gaze met his, and her tear-filled eyes widened in shock.


	4. Questions

**Learning Mercy**

**Chapter 4─ Questions**

* * *

There was a second where nothing happened: the very air around them seemed to still, holding its breath, waiting.

Then it exhaled, and the world was put back into motion.

"Shit!" Audrey shrieked, scrambling to her feet before whirling around to face him. Gabriel watched silently as she took up a defensive pose and pulled something from her side before pointing it at him in silent warning.

He eyed his dagger ─ clutched in the girl's white-knuckled grip ─ before he turned his attention back to her.

The two stared at each other silently, one with a calm mask of indifference, and the other with a fierce intensity that bordered on desperation; like a feral cat backed into a corner by a dog.

Then the fire crackled, breaking the silence, and Gabriel took a step forward with the intention of retrieving his weapon. The girl jumped in response, her expression flickering to alarm before it was hidden just as quickly with a mask of fury.

Gabriel saw her slip and didn't advance upon her further.

It wasn't because she was frightened of him: fright wasn't an abnormal emotion for humans to have in his presence; but something in the way she held herself triggered that nagging question once more.

"_Why do you continue to fight, when you know all hope is lost?"_

Gabriel found himself thinking this question more times in the past day than he was comfortable with, and it was beginning to grate on his nerves.

These weren't the humans he remembered: in that time, man had killed one another for nothing more than simple words ─ like quarreling, filthy rats fighting to the death over a crumb of bread ─ he also saw the hatred and corruption festering amongst their kind. It had disgusted Gabriel, and he had long since forgotten the last time he'd looked down upon them.

But something substantial had changed in the many, many years between then and now; humans had once feared and revered his kind, but this was the fourth human to stand up to him in as many as hours.

What was it that drove them to stand against him when there was no hope in winning? Was it stupidity? Stubbornness? Bravery? Or was there something he was missing entirely?

The reasons were entirely lost on Gabriel, and, as hard as he brooded over the issue ─ which he had done several times throughout the day ─ he couldn't empathize with it, and he found no delight in being kept in the dark about such things.

Gabriel suddenly had little interest in the dagger, and now stared coolly at the girl in front of him; she held the answers he wanted, and he now pondered over how to gain them.

* * *

Audrey's heart drummed in her ears, her hands shook, and she felt as if she were going to puke.

This was not how it was supposed to go. This was all supposed to be over dammit!

Audrey was about to do something: shout, run, attack; she didn't know ─ seeing as how her thoughts felt like they were sprinting terrified laps around her skull ─ but she was interrupted before she could act.

"Why do you continue to fight? Surely you know that you are no match for me, even with my blade." The angel announced, his baritone voice carrying through the darkness and shocking Audrey: it was the first time she'd heard him actually speak.

_His blade?_ Audrey thought first, surprised. Well, that did explain the unnatural sharpness to it. Although she honestly couldn't understand why he would need something so sharp, after all ─ Audrey thought bitterly ─ it didn't take much to kill a helpless infant.

She glared up at him as she considered his question. Why should she fight? Why _shouldn't_ she fight? Was that supposed to be an insult?

"What kind of question is that? Does it look like I want to die, asshole?" Her tones were clipped, punctuating her displeasure and ─ hopefully ─ masking her fear.

Audrey, as it turned out, had the terrible habit of cussing when she was frightened, or nervous, and she normally didn't realize it ─ but she was all too aware of it this time, and felt her heart hiccup in her chest.

But he didn't seem to notice and simply stared at her instead, long and hard; which quickly made Audrey even more uncomfortable than she already was.

A few more seconds passed before he met her gaze once more.

"You say you don't wish to die, and yet you have nothing to live for: your soul is tainted, you have no place to call your home, your family is dead, and you are alone in this world." Audrey flinched and he studied her features. "Yet you still fight. Why?"

She felt her throat constrict painfully. Was this bastard teasing her? Did he think this was a joke? She felt strangely violated that he could read her so easily.

Audrey suddenly felt anger begin to mingle with her grief and fear ─ a potent mixture which left her feeling bolder by the second.

Audrey set her jaw and lifted her chin defiantly, not caring that her eyes now swelled with fresh tears at the reminder of her mistakes. "You know what? I may not be perfect, and yes, I am alone-" her voice cracked, "-and that's my fault too. But as long as there's a chance that I can be happy and make up for everything I've done then I'm going to take it. I'd rather die fighting for a chance than to just give up." She swallowed harshly and raised the blade a bit higher.

The angel said nothing, but stared at her in a sort of grave fascination.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" She was almost shouting now ─ from her fear, from her conviction. "You came here to finish me off, didn't you? So do it!" A tear fell down her cheek. "Do it!"

She thought she saw the angel's eyes widen slightly, but it was over so quickly that she might have imagined it.

Silence filled the area, and Audrey held the blade in one shaking hand, breathing deeply.

"No." The angel said at last, his expression unreadable, but Audrey noticed something change in his demeanor: his shoulders relaxed, and he suddenly looked... tired.

He said nothing more before slowly extending his hand out to her, palm up ─ in a frighteningly calming gesture ─ which put Audrey even more on edge. Her eyes widened and they flicked from his hand to his face. What was he doing? Was this a trick?

He took a step forward and she found herself shaking more violently, "D-don't come any closer!" She warned, choking the hilt of the dagger until she felt as if it were about to fuse with her palm.

Audrey had thought she was ready to fight, but she now realized how utterly wrong she'd been.

His expression didn't waver, and he still said nothing as he continued forward, palm outstretched.

Audrey took a step back, but knew that she didn't have a chance of outrunning him and held her ground. "I said stay back!" She said again, more urgent this time.

Audrey's anxiety reached its peak when he came within arm's reach, and her breath hitched.

She lashed out ─ cutting across the back of his hand just as he began to retract it. The angel halted completely before looking down to inspect the back of his hand.

Shocked with herself, Audrey's eyes widened. She stared down at the blood trickling from his hand with growing dread.

Her mind began screeching at her: it told her to move, to run, to do anything! But her muscles were seized up like a deer caught in headlights ─ she slowly looked up to his face for his reaction, realizing that she'd gone too far this time with this deadly, ethereal creature.

He dropped his hand to his side and looked back up at her, but there was no judgment or challenge on his features ─ only calm acceptance.

He didn't advance further, but extended his uninjured palm, face up, within cutting range.

Audrey flicked a glance at his outstretched hand with bewilderment, but she didn't strike again. What was he doing? What did he want?

Then it suddenly clicked, and Audrey worriedly looked back up to his face for reassurance, but found nothing.

Hoping desperately that this wouldn't be the end of her but finding no other alternative, Audrey slowly lifted her hand to hover above his much larger one, and, with difficulty, she peeled her stiff fingers away from the hilt until the dagger dropped harmlessly into his open palm.

His large fingers came up to curl around the hilt, and he paused, considering for a moment.

In a seemingly labored movement, he began to lean forward and Audrey couldn't help but take a worried step back, but she stilled at the look he sent her: at the tiredness she saw in his features.

Once he was sure she wouldn't flinch away again, he carefully slipped the blade back through the loop on the side of her skirt before straightening.

Audrey's eyebrows drew together and she studied his stoic features for a long moment, confused. "Why are you doing this?" She asked quietly. "Why didn't you kill me?"

He said nothing for a long moment, as if he were breaking down each of his thoughts and reconstructing them into something she could understand. "Because," he paused, "you don't deserve it," he said plainly, but with a wavering conviction that gave Audrey the vague impression that he was still digesting the idea himself.

She noticed that he'd dodged her first question, but chose to ignore it to focus on the question he had answered.

_That was it?_ Audrey thought lamely. He didn't kill her simply because she didn't deserve to be killed?

Audrey decided that she may not know this angel, or even his name, but from what she'd seen so far he didn't seem the type to be kind or forgiving and this whole situation struck her as odd.

No, there was more to it than that, Audrey was sure of it, but for now she was simply content that he'd spared her at all.

Although she'd rather swallow a razor blade rather than admit that out loud.

Then another thought struck Audrey, "Your knife?" She looked at him questioningly.

"You need it more," he stated simply, as if she should know that already. "But it is still mine, and I will retrieve it when I deem it necessary."

"Oh." Audrey said lamely, her gaze dropping to examine a nearby rock ─ light from the fire sent shadows dancing and flickering across it.

There was an awkward pause then, and Audrey decided that ─ with her nerves settling, and with having gone through quite a bit in the past few days ─ that she was now very, very tired.

"Look," Audrey started, dragging tired eyes back up to the dark angel in front of her, "it isn't that I don't... appreciate... whatever you're doing, but I'm tired. And no offense, but I don't think I can sleep anywhere near you."

He didn't reply, so Audrey took a step back, then two, before carefully walking around him in a wide arc and making her way back over to the fire.

She did her best to avoid glancing over her shoulder to see if he'd left, and focused on slowly adding a few more branches to the dwindling fire and warming her hands.

The more she calmed down, the more she realized how much her brain felt like mush ─ like someone had taken a hammer to the fleshy organ a few dozen times. Perhaps she'd hit her head a bit harder than she remembered during the crash, or she was just too exhausted to think straight, but all she knew for sure was that she felt perfectly glad to escape that encounter in one piece.

Audrey kept her eyes lowered to the ground at her feet as she settled herself back against the rock, and, after a few seconds of staring at the hand in her lap, she finally risked a glance over to the last place she'd seen the angel ─ she was satisfied to see him missing.

Audrey sighed a quiet breath of relief and slowly turned her attention back to the fire, but was shocked to see the angel plop himself down on the other side of the flames and fold his legs in front of him.

Now that she knew that he posed a smaller threat to her ─ although she still didn't trust him ─ she felt frustration at seeing him there.

Audrey's eyes met his from over the fire and narrowed. "Don't you have better things to do?" She asked rudely.

"No." He replied simply, and crossed his arms across his chest.

He looked, for all intents and purposes, like a man that wasn't going anywhere.


	5. Town

**Learning Mercy**

**Chapter 5 ─ Town**

* * *

Audrey said nothing, content with glowering over the fire at the stubborn angel who stared impassively back at her.

Why was it that she couldn't catch a break? All Audrey wanted was to sleep, preferably nowhere near anything otherworldly. After all, she'd had more than her fill of murderous angels over the past few days.

So Audrey simmered in silence, thinking of ways to rid herself of the angel, and all the while she felt her temper rising with each moment of lost sleep.

But, as a time passed ─ five minutes, maybe ten ─ Audrey found that the angel possessed the patience of a saint, even if he didn't act like one.

As it turned out Audrey didn't have such patience, and she felt her temper boil over before she finally snapped at him. "So you're _really_ just going to sit there and watch me. Why? I'm not going to do any tricks." Bitterness laced her words like spikes on a cactus.

But the angel didn't seem affected ─ much to Audrey's disappointment. "I'm sure that if you had a trick, it wouldn't impress." The angel quipped smartly, raising a brow at her in a way that dared her to contradict him.

Audrey's eyes tightened at him from over the fire. _The nerve!_ "Then why are you still here? If you really want the damn dagger then just take it and leave. I can take care of myself."

Gabriel considered his response for a moment before responding. "I came for the dagger, but I found that I could gain something more important than a lost weapon."

Audrey had barely heard a handful of sentences from the angel in total, and she was already irritated with him. Did all angels speak this cryptically or was it just this one? "You could stand to be a bit clearer." Audrey bit out, her tone implying that if he didn't start becoming clear soon that she might become increasingly difficult to be around.

He inhaled deeply through his nose and turned his attention to the fire before exhaling slowly. "Humans... are not as I remember them. They've changed over the centuries, and I... need to understand." He said this as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "I no longer wish to be ignorant of mankind ─ although it was my intention when I ceased to look upon them all those years ago."

Audrey studied him. Was this really what this was all about? He wanted to understand humans? "Can't you just, I dunno, read me like you did before and find out what it is?" Audrey asked, some of her bitterness giving way to curiosity.

He shook his head once sharply, "It does not work that way."

Audrey had always been curious as a child, and she could count more than one occasion that it had gotten her in trouble.

But some things carry on with you from childhood, no matter how much time passes, and Audrey found that she couldn't stop herself form indulging that curiosity. "How _does_ it work?"

He paused while still staring into the flames, as if he were considering if he should tell her or not. But he answered after a short time, "Strong emotions, memories, and the sins of man are all subject to an angel's sight, but what I must know is something that a reading cannot reveal. If it were so simple, I would not be here."

Audrey stared at him. He could see all of that just by looking at her? Was there more to it than that? Could he hear her thoughts also? Audrey suddenly felt insecure. It was bad enough that he could see into her memories and into every wrong she'd ever done, but she'd always assumed that her mind was the only place she could find solitude ─ where she could think whatever she wanted with no repercussions.

But regardless of her feelings, Audrey couldn't help but wonder why he had such limited powers. Was it God's will? Or something else entirely?

When Audrey was a child she believed that angels were invincible: that they could bend reality, heal the sick, and anything else along the lines of the great and almighty. But then Michael had shown up, and whatever Audrey had thought about angels before that day had been wiped clean, only to be replaced with things much more sinister.

They had broken the angels of her fantasies and had soiled the deep-down hope that they were all good, kind-hearted creatures.

Audrey didn't want to admit it, even to herself, but it felt as if they had soiled something inside herself too.

And now, as she compared the realities to her past-fantasies, she found that she could almost laugh at how wrong she'd been.

But Audrey decided to drop the subject for another time ─ her mind was becoming muddled and foggy with her need for sleep.

Audrey turned tired eyes to the angel. "You're... not going to kill me in my sleep, are you?" Audrey realized that the question was stupid, but couldn't scrape together enough embarrassment to really care.

He met her gaze evenly, "If I had wished you dead, you would be." He said simply.

Strangely, Audrey believed him. And the more she thought about it, the more it made sense really; why would he want to kill her when he would rather study her like some sort of lab rat? Besides, like he had implied, she wouldn't have been able to stop him if he had decided to kill her. He simply had no reason to... yet.

Audrey felt, at least for the moment, that she could rest without fearing him: the other humans within the immediate area would probably rather shoot at the angel rather than look at him, so she was still number one in his books for getting the answers he wanted. Whatever they were.

So with that, Audrey looked at him long and hard, saying with her eyes what she didn't with her words, before she turned her heavy-lidded gaze to the fire and leaned her head back against the rock that was supporting her.

Audrey ignored the being across from her as she closed her eyes, her muscles tense for a moment before she eventually forced herself to relax.

She listened to nothing but the occasional pop or sputter from the fire, and before she knew it she was asleep.

* * *

The sun had just risen from behind the mountains, lighting the valley in vibrant hues of orange and pink. The rocks and shrubs littering the valley cast long shadows across the dusty ground, giving the impression of dark, spindly spider webs.

Audrey slowly woke, her eyes cracking before she remembered where she was and the events of the night before.

_The angel._

Audrey's eyes snapped open, and she looked around only to find him missing.

She wasn't all too surprised, really, but she couldn't help but wonder why he'd insisted on staying in the first place.

Audrey shrugged, dropping the subject, before inhaling deeply and stretching her good arm up above her head. After a few seconds she released the breath and dropped her arm back into her lap.

Well, the town wouldn't be making its way over to her.

Audrey pushed herself up to a stand, wincing at the renewed ache in her arm; it ached anew now that she wasn't numbed by sleep.

She decided to ignore the pain. Fussing over it wouldn't make it go away, at any rate.

So Audrey made her way over to the river and drank down a few handfuls of water before straightening and turning her attention to the town.

She didn't want to admit it, but she was nervous. If they didn't accept her, it was as good as a death sentence in this desert.

Audrey reached down to her side and felt the cool handle of the dagger still resting at her side. She could use it if she had to. If it could cut through an angel's skin ─ skin which could withstand much more than anyone in the diner could have anticipated ─ then she was well enough armed to confidently approach the town.

Well, unless they had guns. A dagger wouldn't do much if they decided to shoot at her.

Grimly, Audrey set off, and noticed as she passed the fire that it had died out sometime during the night. She also noticed that most of the kindling she had gathered had been burned... so he had stayed for a while then.

Audrey puzzled it over a bit as she started approaching the town, and once bored with those thoughts, she moved onto what she might say when she came into contact with someone.

After a time that seemed much longer than it probably was, Audrey slowed to a hesitant stop.

She was close enough now to see that the town was completely devoid of people, although she could also see smoke rising from some of the many chimneys scattered about the town. There had to be people here ─ fires didn't light themselves.

"Hello?" Audrey shouted nervously, waiting for some sort of response.

As expected, she received none.

Audrey forced her legs back into movement and continued on, her feet practically dragging in the dirt before she stopped again when she reached the invisible line that separated the desert from the town in Audrey's mind. She tried again. "Can anyone hear me? Hello?"

Still nothing, and it was beginning to unnerve Audrey. She inhaled deeply and stepped past the invisible line before continuing on slowly, her eyes darting around as if expecting something to pop out at her.

She made it a couple of steps before pulling the dagger out and clutching it firmly at her side.

Audrey was suddenly glad that the angel hadn't taken the dagger from her; it gave her the courage to continue on. She probably would have been paralyzed at the line otherwise.

There was the sudden clatter of wood ─ of a crate hitting the dirt, or perhaps a board ─ and Audrey jumped, her head whipping over to the source of the sound.

It had come from the space between two of the buildings near her ─ one of the buildings was marked a general store and the other simply labeled as 'Joe's', both appeared to be deserted.

Audrey raised the dagger in front of her as she hunched into the same defensive stance she took against the angel the night before.

She swallowed the lump that had grown in her throat. "Hello?" She shouted, hating the way her voice wavered.

But there was still no response, and Audrey slowly approached the alley.

Reaching the mouth of the space between the two buildings, Audrey paused, scanning the area. It was a dead end, with a large wooden fence at the far back ─ too large for most people to scale. She could also see a cluster of large trash bins against the left wall, and noticed the piece of fallen wood on the ground near the bins. It must have been leaning against them before it fell.

"Please," Audrey started kindly, and took a step forward toward the bins, "I'm not looking to hurt anyone." She took another step forward.

She was a couple of paces from the bins when one of them clanked ─ Audrey jumped in surprise and stiffened.

She inhaled deeply before getting up her nerve and quickly took the remaining steps around to the other side of the bins, "Look I-"

There was a ragged looking shih tzu, probably pure white under all of the dust and grime, and its head reached up to about mid-calf. At Audrey's appearance, it looked up from its meal ─ of a rancid bit of old steak which had been ripped from a nearby trash-bag ─ before wagging its curled tail at her and going back to its meal.

Audrey released a heavy sigh of relief before lowering the dagger. How dumb, talking to a dog all this time.

Audrey realized her mistake when she felt something cold and hard press up against the back of her head ─ the barrel of a gun.


	6. Sanctuary

**Learning Mercy**

**Chapter 6 ─ Sanctuary**

* * *

Audrey felt the cold barrel of a gun press up against the back of her head and she froze, her heart jumping up to lodge itself in her throat.

Apparently sensing danger, the dog quickly snatched up the remainder of its meal before fleeing the alley.

"Drop it," commanded a gruff voice from a few feet behind her.

Audrey responded immediately and the dagger hit the ground at her feet with a small cloud of dust. Her hand slowly came up to show that she'd done as he'd asked. "I'm not one of them," she said shakily, trying to remain calm.

The man ignored her. "Walk up to the fence."

Audrey's hand remained at the side of her head as she released a shaky breath and took the few remaining paces over to the fence. She paused mere inches from it, the rough wood almost touching her nose.

"Turn around."

Audrey did so slowly. She wasn't surprised to see the barrel of the shotgun still trained on her, nor was she surprised to see an elderly man pointing it at her ─ his ragged voice matched him perfectly.

The man had a full head of ashen hair which hung about in a shaggy manner, and a hint of rough stubble on his face to match the coloring of his hair. He had dark rings under his eyes that suggested many sleepless nights and wrinkles that etched around his mouth and forehead. He also had a large horizontal scar above his left eye ─ it looked like it had been one hell of a wound at some point.

His expression was grave and his hands didn't shake as he pointed the gun at her in a manner that suggested he had killed before ─ and would do so again if he had to.

"Show your teeth," he demanded.

Audrey was more than willing to comply, if it meant keeping her face, and exposed her teeth to him awkwardly.

He squinted hard at first, but seemed satisfied with what he saw and relaxed an inch before lowering the barrel of the gun to the ground. "You're not one'a them. Good," his face relaxed and he allowed his voice to mellow ─ quite the difference from his almost military-like barking from before. "But what're ya doin' all the way out here?"

Audrey felt the tension drain from her, and her shoulders slumped in relief before she let her hand fall back to her side. "It's... a long story."

"I got time," he said gruffly, and then proceeded to look her over before crinkling his nose in obvious distaste, "you a streetwalker?" he asked bluntly.

Audrey huffed indignantly and bit back a rude retort that had made it to the tip of her tongue. "No, I'm not," she ground out with barely contained anger.

"Huh. Could'da fooled me," he said with a shrug. Audrey glared at him, but he ignored her and continued on. "Come with me, I got some clothes back at the house. Can't have a young woman runnin' 'round dressin' like _that _now can we?" He grinned and set off without waiting for a reply.

Audrey stood in stunned silence and watched his retreating form warily, and when he turned around the corner and out of sight, Audrey suddenly felt the urge to run up and cling to his sleeve like a lost child.

But she hesitated.

Should she trust him? Why was he so eager to help?

Then again what choice did she have? It was this or death in the desert.

Audrey snapped out of her daze and started to follow after him, but paused to retrieve the angel's blade before slipping it back into the loop of her skirt and jogging to catch up.

It seemed that he had set up an easy-going pace so it didn't take long before she caught up and fell in step behind the old man. She said nothing as she followed him past the small shops and homes scattered along the main road. She occupied herself with peering in the windows to see if she could see anyone, but there was nothing.

"Where is everyone?" Audrey asked curiously as she inspected the busted-out window to the old liquor store ─ there was dried blood soaking the shards.

"Pro'lly still sleepin'. We only got a few folk patrolin' at night now that them bastards are gone an' even fewer durin' the day. Speakin' of, Manny should be 'round here somewhere..."

But Audrey hadn't heard the last part, and she turned her head to stare at Lyle's back, "Bastards? You mean the possessed? Did you get a lot of them around here?"

The man chuckled humorlessly, "'Course we did. Most'a them started out as our own neighbors, others were from the town down the road, I s'ppose. We had the things crawlin' all 'round here for a while ─ they killed alotta good folk. It took all we had to fight them things off, but then they just up an' left two nights ago ─ stopped what they were doin' an' ran off. Doesn't stop us from watchin' for 'em in case they come back, though."

Audrey puzzled over that information. Why would they all just run off like that? She was pretty sure that most of the possessed from the diner had come from the city ─ judging by the way most of them were dressed. Well, some of the possessed might have been from this town, Audrey conceded, but not most of them.

Besides, after taking a good look around, Audrey was willing to bet that people from this small town had no need for fancy business suits or ice-cream trucks.

Another troubling thought was that if the possessed had left the town two days ago, then that meant that they had left _before _Charlie's baby was born. What could they have left for if it wasn't for the baby?

It made no sense to Audrey, so she just decided to drop it. No use in puzzling over something she couldn't grasp, and there was a lot Audrey didn't understand about angels at the moment. "So, you said a lot of people died... what did you do with all of the, uh..."

"Bodies?" he replied easily, "we cleaned 'em up during daybreak. The things seemed more docile 'round that time. Just finished cleanin' up the last of em' yesterday, actually. We put 'em all in the old Winchester farm North'a here 'till we can bury 'em or burn 'em. We don't know which yet, but we're leanin' on burnin' for the sharp-toothed ones."

Audrey was silent for a short moment. "How many people survived?" Audrey asked as she eyed the homes around them; as if looking again might produce the answers.

"A bit, not sure how many. Most'a the survivors have been hole up in their homes, too scared to come out still. All I know's that we lost too many." He got quiet for a moment before changing the subject quickly. "So what's your name? Can't just call ya 'girl'."

"Audrey, Audrey Anderson."

"Name's Lyle. I'd say nice ta meetcha, but we didn't have much of a good meetin' now did we?" Lyle chuckled a bit. "Nonetheless, I can make up for that with cleanin' ya up and givin' ya a hot meal. Looks like ya haven't eatin' properly in a while."

It was true, Audrey was famished. She hadn't eaten all day yesterday and only had a sandwich the day before that. "I'd like that... thank you," she said, genuinely grateful.

Audrey then realized that she couldn't remember the last time she'd actually thanked someone for something. It made her feel slightly ashamed of herself and she kept silent the rest of the way to the house.

"Well, here we are." Lyle said as he made his way up the steps. Audrey noticed that his age hadn't yet taken the slight spring from his step.

The house itself wasn't anything too marvelous: it was just a small one story on the edge of town; painted a deep green (which reminded Audrey of peas) with white trim ─ the paint was peeling in some places, but it somehow managed to look more charming than anything; There was a porch covering the entire front of the house, with two potted plants hanging from both sides of the stairs and a single white wicker chair that was sitting off to the side.

Overall, the house was tidy and looked well lived-in, and Audrey decided that although it wasn't nearly as expensive as her house ─ her old house, she reminded herself ─ it still managed to seem warmer and more welcoming than hers ever did.

She paused at the base of the stairs and watched as Lyle rummaged around under the mat, muttering curses before lifting the mat entirely. Upon finding nothing, he paused and seemed to remember something before dropping the mat and thrusting his hand deep into his pocket to produce a key with a triumphant 'aha'.

He opened the door and invited her inside with a flourishing gesture and a smile.

Audrey entered into the long stretch of hallway and was assaulted ─ not entirely unpleasantly ─ by the smell of old cologne, dust, linen, and something she couldn't quite put her finger on... old copper? Boot polish?

Lyle shut the door shut behind her. "Well, this's it, make yourself at home while I get together some supplies." She heard his booted footsteps retreat into the room just behind her on the right.

The hallway had white walls and stainless cream colored carpet stretching from one end of the hall to the other. It had two doors on each wall, and one door at the end of the hall for a total of five rooms.

Audrey turned to peer into the room on her right, the same that Lyle had just retreated into, and found a small kitchen/dining room. She could see Lyle rummaging through one of the drawers on the left wall ─ next to the fridge which hummed somewhat obnoxiously ─ but Lyle either didn't notice her intrusion, or didn't seem to mind and continued his search, mumbling about objects getting up and moving around by themselves. There was a small square table pushed up against the right wall and it had three chairs neatly surrounding it. The window on the far wall opposite of her had been boarded off sloppily, and broken glass sprinkled around the linoleum floor below it.

Deciding that she'd seen enough of the kitchen, Audrey pulled back into the hall before entering into the room across from the kitchen. The window in this room was boarded off too, and Audrey had the feeling that it would be the same for the rest of the house. It was a quaint little living room ─ immaculate and littered with trinkets which covered almost every available surface: a couple of ancient-looking toys, a few mementos, a small statuette of a soldier pointing a musket, stacks of heavily-used books, an old yellow cord phone, and pictures which were propped up here and there. There was no television, but across from the couch was a fireplace that looked as if it had been used recently. The three-person couch was a dark tan color and made of leather ─ it had been worn in until the seats were smooth and cracked in some places. There was also two small tables on either side of the couch: the one nearest to the far wall held an empty water glass, another well-used book, and a set of reading glasses; the other, which was nearest to Audrey, had a folded newspaper and a couple of empty beer cans.

Audrey studied the tables and began to wonder if there was a Mrs. Lyle sleeping in one of the rooms down the hall ─ the place definitely had a woman's touch to it, now that she thought about it.

She'd just have to ask Lyle when he was finished.

Audrey was about to explore the other rooms down the hall when a photograph on the mantle above the fireplace caught her eye.

Audrey didn't notice that she had begun walking further into the room, and also didn't notice when she stopped in front of the fireplace; she was utterly transfixed by the photograph perched in front of her.

She picked up the frame with shaking hands; as if removing it from its spot could change it into something else, _anything else_ ─ with no such luck.

She knew those eyes, that face, that hair.

Audrey swallowed harshly and stared at the photograph of the woman ─ the very same whom had attacked her father, tearing a chunk of flesh from his neck with her sharp teeth before climbing on the ceiling like some kind of fucked up poltergeist.

Gladys Foster - as it had said on the drivers license taken from her body - stared back at Audrey with a kind smile and twinkling eyes, and next to her in the photo was Lyle. Both of them smiled fondly back at her.

Audrey felt her stomach lurch heavily.

"Hey, gotcha some bandages n' stuff. My momma was'a nurse and I saw her workin' on others long 'nough to pick up some things. Lemme see what I can do 'bout that arm'a yours." Lyle said as he entered the room behind her.

Audrey turned and tore her eyes from the photo just in time to see his gaze drop to the picture and back up to her face before he raised a brow at her. She felt guilty at being caught touching his things and quickly placed the frame back on the shelf before turning back to face him. She noticed that he held numerous wraps and other packages in his gnarled hands.

Audrey didn't how to handle this. Did he know his wife had been possessed? Should she tell him? _Could_ she tell him?

But Lyle beat her to it before she had a chance to decide. "Ah, see ya found m'wife. Still quite pretty for her age, yeah? A lot less can be said 'bout me," he laughed a bit at his own expense, "she always did have all the luck."

Audrey swallowed harshly, but tried to hide her mounting anxiety under an encouraging smile which felt all too strained. "So, uh, where is your wife? Is she here?" Audrey hated herself for asking, but she had to know if he knew.

He grew quiet for a moment, and Audrey saw a flash of concern cross his features before he covered it up with a smile that was beginning to look almost trademark on him. "Ah... she went to visit her sister's youngin's 'bout a week ago. They live in the city, see," Lyle said as he made his way over to his side of the couch. "She was supposed to spend a few days up there an' come back, but with what's been goin' on... well, you know." He moved the empty beer cans and the newspaper onto the floor next to the couch. "But she's a tough one, my Gladys. She'll be back when things smooth over," he said this with conviction, and a small smile spread across his features that made the corners of his eyes wrinkle.

He believed it, he truly did.

Audrey felt another wave of nausea hit her. She knew that she should tell him, but the memory of Gladys's body ─ shot full of holes with blood still staining her chin ─ it was just too much.

Besides, Audrey just couldn't do that to him. Why take away his hope?

"Uhm... so your mother was a nurse, right? You think you can take care of my arm? I think it's broken..." Audrey couldn't keep eye contact any longer and dropped her gaze to her arm as if to consider it.

If he noticed the hasty subject change he didn't mention it, and proceeded to set down all of the stuff he had gathered onto the table. "Sure can. She loved teachin' me an' my brother 'bout that kinda stuff. Seemed like she and my daddy liked'ta play tug-of-war over us kids to see who favored who more; it was a little game'a theirs. Pa taught us to hunt an' fight, and ma taught us about medicine. Turned out that I was a bit like both, while my brother, Jim, was more like neither," Lyle chuckled, "Jim always liked obscure things. Still does."

Audrey didn't know what to say to that, so she responded with a polite little hum as she watched him begin to roll out and stretch out some kind of odd fabric.

"Alright, take a seat, missy, and I'll take'a look'it the damage." Lyle said, taking a seat in the middle of the couch and motioning for her to sit on the cushion to his left.

Audrey complied, sitting down stiffly and she held her arm out for him. He set the fabric down on his leg and got to work with un-knotting the sleeve of her coat/sling and it soon fell open. He then gently pulled the coat away ─ Audrey hissed at the sharp pains and brought her good arm up to support it as best as she could.

Lyle whistled low and Audrey looked down at her exposed arm. It was swelling slightly and there were large splotches of dark purple bruises staining the exposed skin of her arm. She stared down at it in surprise. Had it really been that bad before?

No, there had been a few ripening bruises that she could remember, but nothing that stood out too much from the others lining her body. But now it looked more like she was growing some kind of small eggplant under her skin.

"Alright, this's gonna hurt." Lyle warned, taking her arm from her grasp and probing it with a calloused finger. Her breath hitched and she felt tears swell in her eyes as he probed two more times before nodding to himself. "Broke yer Ulna; full arm cast it is."

He left the room and returned a while later with two buckets of steaming water, some rags, and a bar of soap. He set them on the floor, one at her feet and the other at his, before he proceeded to dunk one of the rags, ringing it out lightly, and scrubbing the soap against it. He handed it to her, "Might wanna scrub off all the dirt before I apply the cast ─ can't wash under there 'till the cast comes off." Lyle said as he started ripping open some silver bags from the table and retrieving the deep blue wraps from inside them. He placed them in a pile on the table.

Audrey set to work with gently scrubbing off the dust and grime settled on the skin of her bare arm. After a few minutes of light scrubbing, and drying off with a dry rag, she was done.

Audrey was almost amused by the contrast between the clean skin of her arm and dirt covering the rest of her.

"Alright now, let's get ta work." Lyle said, and retrieved her arm from her side as gently as he could. "Now, this is gonna hurt, so try not ta move..." He took a firm grip on two parts of her arm. "Ready? 3... 2... 1-"

He moved suddenly, resetting the bone - Audrey couldn't stop herself from squeezing her eyes shut and yelling out at the intense pain. He then gave Audrey a moment to compose herself and she fought back tears as she took deep breaths in and out. Once the pain dulled slightly, she nodded her consent, he prodded her arm again and seemed satisfied.

From there he began work on the cast. He first positioned her arm so that it was bent at a 90 degree angle at her elbow with the inside of her wrist facing toward her. Satisfied with the position, he held it in place and grabbed the stretchy fabric that she had seen him fiddling with before. He had her hold the arm still as he bunched the fabric up and stretched it over her hand. The skin-tight material started at the tips of her fingers and reached almost to her armpit. She bit back a few curses as he applied it over the bumps and bruises. Next, he carefully cut a hole for her thumb and pulled the appendage out from the fabric before moving on to cut a slit at the crease of her arm. He cut off the excess material that bunched there and made sure that there were no wrinkles or folds in the fabric before grabbing some of the white padding. He began wrapping it around the lower-half of her palm and layered it twice before continuing on down to her wrist where he then wrapped it four times. He continued on until he ran out of the padding near her elbow and reached for another roll. He continued wrapping until she was padded up to about the middle of her upper arm. He then used a pair of scissors to cut it off at the end. Satisfied, he adjusted the position of her arm one last time before donning a pair of white surgical gloves. He then reached over, grabbing the blue wrap and dipping it into the steaming bucket of water at his boots. He removed it from the water and unraveled it a bit before he began wrapping it over the white padding ─ leaving some room for the ends of the white padding to stick out ─ he wrapped it tightly down her arm. Audrey felt warmth from the wrap heating her arm through the layers of material, and figured it was from the chemicals in the wrap. He continued on, creating a few layers and going through two more rolls of it before folding the stretchy bottom layer of fabric over both ends of the forming cast. He then dunked the last roll of blue wrap in the bucket and layered it once more.

Audrey had never broken a bone before, and was amazed at how sturdy the cast already was.

"Alright missy, don't move that arm for 'bout twenty. I'll get this place cleaned up n' make us somethin' ta eat," Lyle said as he stood up from the couch and removed his gloves.

Audrey sat still and watched as he got to work with removing the buckets, appearing less than a minute later with a garbage bag and disposing of the packaging left over from some of the material he had used. After a quick thought, he tossed the empty beer cans in too.

He didn't return to the living room after that, so Audrey fought off the boredom by standing up ─ being careful not to move her arm ─ and moving around the room while examining the numerous pictures lining the walls and surfaces.

There were many faces that meant nothing to Audrey, but she took interest in a few that were of Gladys and Lyle; some were from when they were younger, and others were of them together throughout the many years they had been together ─ and judging by what Audrey could see, they had been together for _quite_ some time.

After scanning over a few pictures, Audrey decided that Lyle had been quite handsome when he was younger: in the photos he had a full head of dark hair that stuck up in a way that seemed almost roguish, and a smile that seemed like it could charm the last dollar out of a greedy man's pocket. Audrey also noticed that he must have obtained the scar above his eye sometime later in his life, because it was missing from most of the photos. Gladys, on the other hand, had been every inch the girl next door; she had curly brown locks that flowed over her shoulders and eyes that screamed kindness and innocence in a way that made her all the more beautiful.

In some of the photos the pair were caught dancing or laughing together, not noticing the cameras as they were too busy staring at each-other: they looked so happy, so in love.

Audrey felt an ache in her chest when she realized that they would never see each other again. She quickly buried the feeling the best she could and moved on.

Audrey now looked at a photo of Gladys as she held a small bundle in her arms and started down into the child's face with a look Audrey could only describe as euphoria. Lyle stood behind the pair, his hand resting on his wife's slender shoulder and his chest puffed out in pride; he grinned unabashedly into the camera and held the same twinkle in his eye as Gladys.

Audrey almost felt like she was intruding on something private and decided to move onto the next photo: this one was of a small girl, perhaps ten years old, and she had eyes made of kindness and a grin that was unmistakable.

So they had a daughter. There was no denying the young girl's likeness to the pair.

Audrey wondered if Lyle was worried for his daughter with all that had happened ─ it must be maddening not being able to contact a loved one, especially now. He did a good job of hiding his concern.

It was a shame that Audrey didn't have anyone else to look for now. Her mother's side of the family lived mostly in Washington and her father's side was scattered around a few Eastern states; she'd only met a few relatives a handful of times and had never really formed a relationship with any of them.

Audrey felt loneliness creeping up on her again, but quickly stopped herself: she refused to have a pity party right now.

Audrey distracted herself from the tightening of her throat by leafing through book titles and amusing herself by trying to guess the age and origin of some of the trinkets lying about.

A time passed while exploring, and she eventually decided to inspect the cast on her arm. She lifted it experimentally, and to her delight her arm barely even throbbed at the movement. It seemed that the casting was almost hardened and she poked it experimentally. It seemed stable enough and Audrey figured that it had probably been about twenty minutes, so she crossed the hall and wandered into the kitchen in search of Lyle.

She found him hovering over a boiling pot of what Audrey guessed was some kind of soup. It smelled meaty, and Audrey watched as Lyle add a handful of chopped carrots before stirring. His back was to her, but he seemed to notice her presence, "Was wonderin' when you'd get tired of sittin' in that dusty old room. I take it the cast set a bit?"

"Oh, um, yes." Audrey said, surprised that he'd noticed her, "and, thank you. For everything. I don't know why you're being so nice to me." _God knows I don't deserve it,_ Audrey thought.

"No problem, missy; us folk gotta look out for each-other in times like these. Besides, what kinda person would I be if I jus' left ya there? Specially dressed like ya'are." Audrey heard the teasing tone to his voice but still huffed slightly ─ she offhandedly wondered where he mustered up all of his confidence; surely one couldn't pull it from thin air like he seemed to. "Oh, and try not to bump the cast for the next day or so and try not ta get it wet." He brought the spoon up to his lips and took an experimental sip. He grimaced and added pepper to the pot along with a dash of chopped onions. "Ya 'prolly don't wanna take that one off an' make'a new one, yeah?" He stirred for a bit before testing the soup again.

He nodded this time, and turned the burner down to low.

"Alright, soup's done, lemme grab a bowl for ya. If I don't get some food in ya soon I bet there won't be anything left'a'ya by the end'a the hour." He shot her a grin from over his shoulder and Audrey made it a show to roll her eyes at him with a small grin.

He chuckled a bit and set about gathering the utensils.

* * *

The stew had been good and Audrey finished off the first bowl in record time before helping herself to seconds.

Over the meal, they had chatted mostly about the town. Lyle explained that there were a couple of other small towns nearby: one around the mountains, and another one quite a way down the highway; although no one had ventured far enough to get into contact with either of them since 'the incident'.

He had also explained that the telephone lines were still down and that no one could call in or out of the town, not even on their cell phones.

Audrey was just glad that the town still had electricity ─ which was a miracle in itself.

Finished eating, Lyle cleaned up the bowls and placed the pot of stew in the fridge before he shuffled off down the hallway and reappeared some minutes later with an armful of clothes, a towel, and a roll of duct tape on his wrist.

_Weird,_ Audrey thought as she eyed the tape.

"Thought ya might wanna shower ─ it's down the hall on the right." Lyle handed the bundle to her.

Audrey accepted them, then paused, "Wait, I thought you said not to get the cast wet."

Lyle grinned, "Good to know ya were listenin', you passed my test." He pulled out a garbage bag which had been tucked in his back pocket and pulled the roll of duct tape from his wrist before he motioned for her to hand over the clothes. She gave them to him and he set them on the table before he opened the bag and put it over her fractured arm. He taped it off just above the cast. "Gettin' the tape off won't be too fun, but I'm sure it's worth it for a shower." He handed the clothes back to her once he was finished, "and boy do you need one." He made a face at her that suggested she might smell something like a dead cat.

In response Audrey snorted softly before sticking her tongue out at him in a childish manner and making her way down the hall. She heard his chuckle from behind her and she smiled to herself in return.

His attitude was infectious, and it seemed that Lyle had the same penchant for corny jokes as her father once did - she'd be lying if she said that it didn't warm her heart the slightest bit.

Entering the bathroom ─ which was rather plain: almost everything was a faded white color, with a toilet next to the tiled counter, a sink in the middle of the counter, and a shower/tub combo with a plain tan curtain ─ Audrey set the items down on the counter next to the toilet and started the shower, testing the water until it ran the appropriate temperature.

She locked the door ─ more out of habit than anything else ─ before she began undressing. It was hard to do with one arm, but she managed after a time and piled her dirty clothes in the corner before climbing into the shower.

Audrey closed her eyes, marveling at the heat that worked its way into her sore muscles and ridding her of the filth that had accumulated over the past few days.

She offhandedly wondered what the angel was up to as she reached for the shampoo.


	7. The First Attack

******Learning Mercy**

**Chapter 7 ─ The First Attack**

* * *

Audrey stood under the spray of water until it become cold, only exiting when shivers began to wrack her body. She slowly exited the tub and removed the garbage bag that covered the cast on her arm before stuffing it into the small trash bin next to the toilet. She then reached out and grabbed the scrappy towel sitting folded on the counter next to the toilet and wrapped it around herself.

She paused then, and took took a moment to sit on the edge of the tub, her head hung as she closed her eyes and simply listened to the sound of her own breathing.

Audrey wasn't sure how long she sat there, letting herself relax and think of nothing, but after a time she slowly stood and started ruffling through the clothes that Lyle had given her.

It was a mid-length floral dress ─ white and covered with small pink and blue flowers. It wasn't something that Audrey would've picked for herself, as it was older in style and far too bright for her tastes, but clean was clean, so she mentally shrugged and began dressing. Anything was better than the ripped and filthy clothes she'd been stuck in for so long.

Audrey also spotted a pair of black spandex shorts lying on the floor next to her feet, and figured that they had been folded up with the dress – they were a good enough replacement for underwear, so she slipped them on too.

Double checking that everything was in order, Audrey gathered up her old clothes in the damp towel and opened the door. Steam spilled out of the bathroom as Audrey stepped into the hallway and made her way towards the living room, ready to ask Lyle where she should put her things, when she heard a distant explosion and felt a small rumble shake the house.

_'What the fuck was that?' _Audrey thought, hands beginning to shake as she dropped her clothes and began to search through them. Her fingers quickly met the cool handle of the dagger and she removed it from the loop of her old skirt to hold out in front of her defensively.

"Lyle?" Audrey shouted as she carefully made her way towards the kitchen and living room. She squinted when she noticed a scrap of paper taped to the front door. "Lyle, are you here?"

Only silence greeted her from inside the house, and she could hear the distant echo of gunshots being fired off from outside.

"Fine, great." Audrey muttered, her fingers clenching and unclenching around the hilt of the dagger nervously as she headed towards the door. "Couldn't catch a damn break if it was handed to me..."

Once close enough, Audrey could make out the words _STAY INSIDE_ scribbled sloppily in permanent marker on the paper. She also noticed that the front door was locked.

Well, Audrey thought, she _could_ stay inside, but then again, those creatures (as she wasn't dellusioned enough to think it was anything else) could swarm the house in no time. It didn't help that she was alone, injured, and practically unarmed – a single human would be too easy for them.

Besides, it wasn't like Audrey had actually told Lyle what had happened at the diner yet; he had no idea how much experience she had with those things.

No, she wasn't about to just sit here, twiddling her thumbs and waiting for those damn things to find her. If she had learned anything at the diner, it was that there was power in numbers. She was going to go find Lyle and the others.

Besides, she had this _feeling: _something similar to your heart dropping, and it was _pulling_ her─ like someone had a thin string in her chest and was giving it gentle little tugs...

Well, she'd been in more life threatening situations in the past few days than she could count, what was one more?

Her mind made up, Audrey reached to unlock the front door, but paused just short when she felt a rush of cool air against on her bare toes.

Ah, yes, shoes.

Audrey briefly considered donning her heels once more, but the protesting blisters─ which had formed and popped sometime during her trek yesterday─ stung as if to tell her what a bad idea that would be, so she discarded the idea swiftly.

She hoped that Lyle wouldn't mind her borrowing a pair of shoes.

Too bad she had no clue where to start looking. Lyle's house lacked a hall closet, and there was no shoe basket or anything of the like in the kitchen or living room─ and it was then that Audrey remembered that her parents had kept their shoes in their bedroom closet at home.

Audrey figured that it was worth a shot, and quickly made her way to the door at the end of the hall which she assumed to be Lyle's. The door was unlocked, and the hinges creaked in protest as she pushed her way into the room.

The walls were plain and the room smelled strongly of dust and old cologne. Audrey scanned over the empty queen sized bed─ unconsciously noting that the right half of the bed was made perfectly while the other was disheveled. To the right of the door, against the wall, was a long dresser: it was littered with old jewelry, a few watches, older sunglasses, a hairbrush, some bottles of perfume, a dusty black and white photograph, and some other dusty trinkets. There was a bathroom just to the left of the main door, and a closet with two sliding doors next to the bathroom; one of the doors to the closet was already open.

Audrey hesitantly entered the rest of the way into the room, feeling discomfort lodge itself in her throat as she felt more and more like an intruder. She could recall feeling much the same when sneaking into her parents' bedroom as a child.

Audrey pushed the feelings away and quickened her stride, Lyle didn't seem like the kind of person to care about privacy when people's lives were at stake. He could be dying out there for all she knew, she had to hurry!

Reaching the closet, Audrey leaned forward and squinted into the darkness. She was right, there were several pairs of shoes in here: three pairs of worn slippers, a pair of large dust-covered boots, a set of red heels, some modern-looking moccasins...

Audrey set down the blade to pick up the moccasins, inspecting them: they were worn-in, with a thick fuzzy material inside them, half a size too large, but the furry lining _would_ rule out her need for socks.

Audrey shoved them on her feet, noticing that they didn't hurt her blisters as much as she had expected. She took a couple of test steps and was satisfied that the shoes had thick soles and didn't slip from her heel as she had expected them to.

Deciding that this was probably the best pair she could find, Audrey retrieved the blade before she exited the room, being sure to shut Lyle's bedroom door firmly behind her. She wasted no more time and made her way to the front door, ignoring the note as she turned the lock and pulled open the door. It shut with a resounding thud behind her.

It was sunny outside, the sky a vibrant blue with not a cloud in sight, and Audrey felt a low breeze blow through the dusty valley, keeping the sun from being too overbearing as she stepped off the porch and descended the stairs.

Quite nice, Audrey noted─ but the pleasant weather was put off by the cracking gunshots and the occasional shout echoing from a ways off.

Audrey wasted no more time as she adjusted the knife in her hand and began jogging towards the source of the noise─ following the invisible string tugging at her chest.

* * *

(**WARNING**: Violence and gore ahead)

There was dark smoke in the air which scorched its way down Audrey's suddenly dry throat – it smelled unpleasantly of charred chemicals, and reminded her of the smell of exploded fireworks.

Audrey approached the main road, her sight obscured by a large brick building that jutted out and blocked her view of the rest of the town. She could hear that the source of the gunshots were close, along with the shouting of both commands and pain.

Audrey rounded the side of the building to chaos.

The smoke (and earlier explosion, Audrey suspected) originated from one of the buildings along the main road. The building itself was engulfed in flames which licked out the windows and towards the sky. Around the street there were roughly a dozen or so townspeople scattered about: some ducking behind cars; others hiding around corners of buildings and in alleyways, pointing weapons and firing off rounds; a few people ran back the way she'd come, injured or retreating; and a couple of the more brave (or foolish) people were marching forward in plain sight, guns drawn and shooting at the creatures head on.

The possessed were here. She already knew this, but it was easier to think about than it was to see them again. Audrey swallowed thickly.

There was a screech and Audrey watched in horror as a couple of the beasts lunged at a man; one of the creatures falling limply to the ground with a bullet wound between the eyes, and the other reaching the man, tearing into the soft flesh of his belly with sharp claws and razor-tipped teeth. The man shouted out in pain, struggling beneath the monster before he suddenly stiffened, and then his arms slumped limply to the ground. Noticing the attack too late, a woman shouted out in agony before running up behind the creature to club it off of the man with a wooden plank, tears streaming down her face as she proceeded to bludgeon the creature to death.

Audrey was hyperventilating as she took a step away from the scene. There was something off about the possessed: the claws, the bloodshot eyes, the posture, the red and black sores forming on their bodies...

What had she been _thinking_ when she ran out of the house? Did she honestly believe that she was supposed to swoop in and save the town like a hero? She was an idiot if she thought she could fend off even a few of the _normal_ possessed─ let alone _one_ of these.

But before Audrey could so much as take another step back, there was an urgent shout from behind her.

"Get down!"

Audrey didn't question the order and dropped─ before she'd even fully hit the ground three heavy gunshots sounded from behind her and into the alley just to her right, followed by a cry from something decidedly inhuman, then the sound of a body collapsing.

Realization dawned and Audrey felt sick. One of them was almost upon her and she hadn't even realized it.

_I would've been ripped apart like my father_. Audrey choked a bit on the information, closing her eyes tightly. The image of his stunned expression as Gladys tore into his throat crossed her mind. Audrey let out a dry sob.

She barely noticed that she was shaking and took no action to remove herself from the ground. A couple of seconds ticked by before a calloused hand gripped her upper arm, pulling her to stand.

Audrey was still shaking, but desperately willed the images away as she was dragged to her feet. She pulled herself together enough to take a deep breath and open her eyes to look at the man who had saved her.

He looked to be in his early twenties, almost a good head taller than her, with a tan that suggested many days working outside. He had brown eyes and dusty blonde hair─ which was cropped short to his head─ and a tidy soul patch. His features were strong, with a square jaw and an almost hawk-like nose. He wore a white tank top and blue jeans─which were covered in dust and oil stains─ and a pair of cowboy boots. Audrey also noticed a tribal tattoo which started on his right wrist and snaked it's way up his right shoulder to touch just below his collarbone.

Audrey met his gaze and saw the mildly amused look he was giving her. She realized she'd been caught giving him a quick once over.

But before she could so much as blink, he reached back, grabbing a small handgun from his back pocket and pressing it into her good hand. "Here, take this," he said quickly. "It has twelve rounds. You know how to use one right?" Audrey nodded at him numbly and he shot her a strained grin. "Good, try not to get yourself killed, alright?"

Audrey nodded once more and watched as he jogged over to another younger man who was crouched behind a truck. They nodded to each other and headed out toward the entrance of the town. Past them, Audrey could see a large group of figures fighting ahead─ that must be what they were heading for. She noticed that most of the other townspeople were moving out and heading in the same direction.

Audrey inhaled deeply to gather her resolve, and carefully pinned the barrel of the gun between her chest and chin to free up her hands before reaching down to grab the angel's dagger from where she'd dropped it.

With nowhere else to put the blade, Audrey scanned the ground before hastily picking up a nearby scrap of cloth─ which was stiff with age, dirt, and who knew what else. She fumbled a bit as she wrapped the rag over the sharp end of the blade.

Finished, Audrey hiked up her dress, tucking the wrapped blade under the elastic band of the spandex shorts before dropping the hem of her dress. She then moved to grip the handgun in her good hand once more.

Audrey flipped off the safety to the gun before pulling the slide back and releasing it with a two grinding clicks.

With her paralyzing fear mostly gone, Audrey gathered as much determination as she could and decided that she wouldn't let those bastards catch her off guard again. Not if she could help it.

After being pulled from the ground and regaining some of her composure, she'd realized that she'd rather die fighting than wait to be sniffed out and mauled while hiding under a bed; and by the looks of things─ Audrey's eyes scanned over the human bodies lying in pools of their own blood─ it might just come to that.

Swallowing down the persistent lump in her throat, Audrey released a breath and held the gun up in front of her as she began jogging toward the group of people ahead.

Along the way she passed a few dead bodies, both of the possessed and non, before spotting one of the possessed hunched over a body of an older woman, tearing at her throat as the woman convulsed beneath it.

Audrey didn't hesitate and fired the first shot, which missed entirely. Noticing the miss, she shot again, this time hitting the creature in the forehead─ it stiffened before slumping limply off to the side of the woman and she writhed a few more times before stilling entirely.

Audrey lowered the gun slightly and jogged up to her, but by the time she made it close enough she could see that the woman's eyes were already glazed over, both wide and staring at nothing.

Audrey felt sick, but still managed to force her legs back into motion to continue forward.

There was more shouting and screeching from ahead, and she noticed that there was a group of a dozen or so people standing a safe distance from the fight. They were close enough to watch, but made no move to continue forward.

Audrey looked past them and watched the clustered figures of men and women press forward toward the main group of the clawed and feral-looking possessed.

Wait. Audrey stopped dead in her tracks a few paces behind the small group of still observers.

Before, Audrey hadn't paid much mind to the fighting group, only acknowledging their presence while keeping an eye out for nearby possessed. But now that she was nearer she could see that something was off about them.

The fighting men and women with their backs to her were hunched unnaturally, jumping and lunging into the mass of the oncoming possessed and using their teeth to tear at them. Some even had elongated arms and legs, on all fours, and charged forward, taking down their prey before descending with their razor-sharp teeth to mangle the bodies beneath them. Some even used weapons: planks of wood, rocks, and bricks; anything they could find laying about.

Audrey was baffled. The possessed were fighting each other? What...

Pulling herself from her stupor, Audrey looked around and noticed that the handful or two of remaining townspeople looked just as confused and frightened as she did, watching the battle in silence but clearly unsure of what to do with themselves.

Then Audrey heard a familiar voice─ shouting a command─ and she turned shocked eyes to scan over the fight before she spotted a man wielding a sword in the center of the mob.

_Michael!_ Audrey's eyes widened and her mouth parted as if to call out to him before she closed wordlessly.

And... he had wings?

Michael stood tall at the front of the group of the 'regular' possessed (although Audrey had to admit that it was difficult for her to tell the difference between the two groups), shouting the occasional order while swinging his blade in swooping arcs─ hacking through the feral possessed as if they were nothing. Audrey watched as one of the opposing possessed charged at Michael, taking his sword arm in mouth and trying to tear his flesh from his bones.

Michael grimaced in pain at the assault, but before he could take action one of the regular possessed took notice and leapt upon the attacking feral, wrenching the jaw off of Michael's arm with its bare hands and wrestling it to the ground. Michel staggered back, arm bleeding, but he seemed to ignore the pain as he drove his blade into the feral's head. The other moved off of the corpse and nodded to Michael before it resumed fighting. Michael lifted his blade once more and the bodies began falling around him.

Tearing her eyes from the strange scene in front of her, Audrey scanned the small group of humans around her before she saw Lyle come to a running stop as he reached the cluster of humans. He had a wound on his thigh and was panting heavily, sweat trickling down his wrinkled forehead in beads. There was blood─ someone or something else's blood─ splattered all over his front.

Lyle barely took notice of the townspeople gathered around him as his gaze settled on the fight. He stared wide-eyed at the scene for a few seconds before his lips set into a grim line. He raised his gun, peering through the mounted scope on the weapon and preparing to shoot.

Audrey realized with a sickening jolt that he was aiming awfully close to Michael...

"Lyle, wait!" Audrey shouted, making him jump and those around her come out of their stupor. His eyes widened as he spotted her from over his weapon.

Audrey released a shaky breath of relief when he lowered the gun to his side.

"What're ya doin' here, Audrey? I thought ya had more sense then ta come out here in the shape you're in..." He didn't sound all too mad, but his voice did carry a reprimanding tone as if he had caught a child sneaking cookies before dinner.

"I know, I'm sorry," Audrey said, then noticed that she had successfully gathered the attention of the humans in the area. '_Well, now or never,'_ Audrey thought as she licked her suddenly dry lips. This time she addressed the crowd, "I- I know you all don't have a reason to believe me, but I know him... the angel. His name is Michael, and he saved my life. I promise that he won't hurt us. Just... don't try to kill him." She saw some of the faces around her contort in confusion and others in disbelief─ some people outright scoffed. "Please, just trust me and let him do this."

There were murmurs then, and then a pretty red-haired woman – who held a bleeding man in her lap- met Audrey's gaze firmly, "And if you're wrong?" she challenged, her voice firm and fearful all at once.

"I'm not." Audrey replied, meeting the woman's eyes to show the confidence she held in that statement.

She'd come to know Michael in those few days while trapped in the diner: he stood with them when no other had─ he had gone against God himself to save them; he wouldn't betray them now, she was sure of it.

But then a burly man─ who looked to be in his late thirties, with a thick brown beard and dark eyes─ stepped forward. "I don' think I trust the word of one bratty outsider," he growled, his voice beginning to rise in pitch, "she wasn't here for the attacks, doesn't know what these... _things_ are capable of! We need ta kill all'a these freaks! Gett'em outta our town or die tryin'! Who's with me?"

Some shouts rose up from the group, a couple of men even raising their weapons in the air, and Audrey felt her stomach drop. Were they _really_ that stupid? Couldn't these people see that Michael was _defending_ the town? She fumbled for something to say to convince them otherwise when a new voice chimed in.

"I'd listen ta her if ya value your lives," Audrey's eyes widened and she looked back just in time to see Jeep making his way though the crowd; his features determined and the strange tattoos showing under the tank top he wore. "That angel, Michael, saved us, and I mean _all_ of us. If it weren't for him the human race would'a been wiped out entirely." Jeep said confidently, his gaze settling on the burly man who was a good head taller than himself.

Now that Audrey saw Jeep, knew he was alive, she suddenly felt as if she could breathe properly for the first time since she woke up from the accident. She hadn't realized how worried she'd been over her last remaining friends from the diner─ and she would consider them friends now, surviving that horror had given all of them a bond. A bond of which Audrey was sure that she would share with no others for the rest of her days.

But there was still a nagging in the back of her mind. Yes, Jeep was alive, but there was still Charlie and the baby for her to worry about. Where were they? Did they survive? Audrey was practically crawling out of her skin with her eagerness to ask, but held herself back as she watched Jeep come to a stop a few paces from the burly man.

The burly man clenched his jaw and glared fiercely at Jeep. "Are you _hearing_ yourself, boy? Angels? Does that bloody thing _look_ like an angel to you?" He waved a thick hand at Michael, who at that moment, ducked and twisted, tearing through another couple of the feral-possessed with the tips of his wings. "I know what angels are, and _that_ ain't no angel. Once it's done with those things it'll come for us; we need to kill it while it's distracted!"

Some of the people were murmuring to each-other again, others shifting from foot to foot and darting worried glances over to the fight. Audrey looked back to the burly man just in time to see a bead of sweat roll down his forehead and his adams-apple dip harshly as he swallowed: they were all frightened─ no matter what front they put up.

Jeep glanced at the angel in question before meeting the burly man's eyes again. "Listen, this ain't the time ta argue 'bout this; I'll explain the details ta ya'll later, but for now ya just need to trust me. Keep outta his way, but if he needs help, we'll help him. Until then we should move together ta kill the creatures that've split apart from the main group."

Audrey looked at Jeep curiously. What had happened to the walking doormat of a man she remembered from just a few days ago? Could someone really change so quickly?

But the fact was that he _had_ changed, for whatever reason, and she couldn't help but respect him more for growing a backbone as the people around them moved to follow his instructions.

But it seemed that the burly man was less than impressed as his jaw clenched and he let out a growl in his throat. He opened his mouth to say something to Jeep when a gnarled hand gripped his shoulder firmly. The burly man's shoulders tensed in response, and he turned his glare to Lyle who looked up to the man with a stern look. "The boy's right, Terry, arguin'll get us nowhere. Besides, they have nothin' to gain by lyin'."

To Audrey's surprise, the burly man─ Terry─ only tightened his lips, nodding stiffly to Lyle before shrugging his hand off. Terry sent one last withering glare to Jeep as he made his way over to a small cluster of people next to a truck.

Seeing an opening, Audrey immediately hurried over to Jeep. "Jeep! Where's Charlie? The baby? Are they alright?"

Jeep tore his eyes from Michael and met her gaze evenly, "Don't worry, they're safe," he said softly, frowning when he noticed her cast and the numerous bruises lining her flesh. "I almost didn't believe Michael when he came to us this mornin' and told us that you were alive... I'm so sorry, Audrey, we were so sure you didn't survive the crash... we wouldn't have left ya if we'd known..."

Audrey shook her head gently, "It wasn't your fault Jeep, don't worry about it." Then Audrey remembered something else he'd said. "Wait, Michael came to you before all of this started? Did he tell you what's going on here?" Her mind was buzzing with the possibilities. There must be something big going on for Michael to be fighting _with_ the very things which he had been fighting against a few days ago.

But before Jeep could answer, there were shouts from the back of the group that had all of them turning. Audrey could see a cluster of the feral-possessed approaching, claws extended and fresh blood staining their chins. One screeched tauntingly at them as the creatures fanned out, preparing themselves to attack.

"We'll talk later," Jeep said hurriedly, not taking his eyes off of the creatures as he lifted his rifle and jogged forward to get a better shot.

Other people around her set into motion, raising their weapons and firing.

Audrey followed suit, raising her weapon and aiming─ but a shout from her right had her turning just in time for her to see something moving out of the corner of her eye. She'd barely registered the creature before it hurled itself at her.

Panicked, Audrey jerked her weapon right and squeezed twice.

The body hurled into her, knocking her off of her feet and slamming her back against the ground.

The wind had been knocked out of her, and Audrey gasped for air as she struggled to remove herself out from under the limp body of the creature.

Once free, she struggled to a stand and noticed that the front of her dress was now covered in the creature's blood, but paid it no mind and looked back to where she'd last seen Lyle and Jeep. They had already moved on, a few nameless people in their places as they shot off rounds.

Audrey was still trying to regain her lost breath when she adjusted her grip on her weapon and aimed at another creature which was closing in on a black-haired man near her. She aimed for its head, shooting once, then twice, before hitting her target the third time─ the creature fell dead at the man's feet.

The man's eyes were still wide as he nodded gratefully to her before running over to a dead man and relieving him of his weapon.

Audrey never thought she'd want to thank her marine ex-boyfriend for all of the trips to the shooting range─ hell, toward the end of that relationship she would've rather shot herself in the foot than go again: the man had been _obsessed_ with guns and it seemed that he cared more about them than he ever did her─ but she now thanked whatever had driven her to accompany the asshole. It turned out that she was quite the shot.

She aimed at another creature and fired.


End file.
